Man City are a difficult team to beat: Jesus Navas

Manchester: Jesus Navas has warned Barcelona that Manchester City are "full of confidence" ahead of their Champions League Last 16 tie tonight.

Manchester City players run laps during a training session before their clash against Barcelona. Pic/Getty Images

Manuel Pellegrini's side head into the clash having knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup but the winger is keen not to underestimate the Spanish champions.

"I reckon they won't be happy having to come here," Navas told The Guardian. "They will find we are a really difficult team to play against and to beat.

We are playing very well, creating chances scoring a lot of goals. We are full of confidence. The one thing we must do is play with high pressure and high tempo because they have some top-quality players.

"Maybe they don't play as well as three or four years ago, but that is normal — the rivals study the way you play and find a tactic to counteract your strengths. The cycles in football don't last forever.

"They are top of La Liga and they are in the final of the Copa del Rey. It is always difficult to face Barcelona, they always have top-quality players.

"We have been training hard and hopefully by preparing for this match well we can go through to the next round."

Navas admitted City's 1-3 defeat to holders Bayern Munich earlier in the season has not been forgotten but is confident his side can register a positive result against Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium.

"I am confident we can beat Barcelona at home. Even the best teams have their weaknesses, and Barcelona struggle in set pieces and counter-attacks, when they lose the ball in attacking positions."

Manchester CIity vs Barcelona

Form:> Manchester City's awesome form over the winter, which saw them score 69 goals during a run of 20 matches unbeaten, made them favourites in the eyes of many. A 0-1 loss to Chelsea at the start of this month knocked them out of their stride, but they bounced back by beating the same team 2-0 in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday. > Barcelona have also bounced back from a shock home defeat to Valencia at the start of the month by winning their last two Liga games, scoring 10 goals in the process, which took them back to the top of the table. They also reached the Copa del Rey final.

Domestic league performance:> City: Third in Premier League, three points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand>Barca: Top of La Liga on goal difference (Level on points with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid)

Group stage performances:>City: Second in Group D after Bayern >Barca: Winners of Group H